MemberPress vs Paid Memberships Pro (2026): which should you pick?

Pick MemberPress if

• Fits if you want a membership business on a WordPress site you control
• Works for owners who want posts, courses and coaching under one login, with member data on their own host

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want to try before you pay, as there's no trial or free version
• Skip it if you don't want to look after WordPress and hosting
• Pricey if you budget on year one, since every plan renews at double the first-year price
• Watch out: each plan covers one site, and up to 15 more are separate yearly subscriptions
• Watch out: Launch takes 4.9% a payment, and Zapier, the API, webhooks and affiliates need Scale at $999 a year

Pick Paid Memberships Pro if

• Fits if you run WordPress and want paid membership with free software
• Works for developers who will add the add-ons they need

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you don't want WordPress, because it only runs there
• Tight if you stay free: no license key, no support and no premium add-ons
• Pricey if you want managed hosting: that starts on Max at $99 a month
• Watch out: Max plans are billed per server, and Standard covers one site with no hosting

MemberPress

• MemberPress needs a WordPress site. Each plan covers one site activation, staging sites included; up to 15 more are sold as separate yearly subscriptions.
• Launch takes 4.9% of every payment and accepts Stripe only; Growth and Scale drop the fee, though Stripe or PayPal charges still apply.
• First-year prices are half the list price, and every plan renews at full price: $399, $699 or $999 a year.
• Forums, coaching and quizzes start on Growth; Zapier, the REST API and webhooks, and affiliates need Scale.

Paid Memberships Pro

• It runs only on WordPress; Free has no license key or support.
• Standard covers one site and does not include hosting.
• Max plans are billed per server, with the vendor saying a 100-day money-back guarantee applies.

MemberPress

Paywall and content rules

Smart Rules protect pages, posts, custom post types, categories, tags, files or parts of a page by membership; dripping content on a schedule needs Growth.

Memberships and checkout

Unlimited one-time and recurring memberships with upgrades, downgrades and pausing, coupons, a multi-item cart and a self-serve member dashboard.

Courses and quizzes

A drag-and-drop curriculum builder for unlimited courses and lessons; quizzes, assignments and certificates come with Growth.

AI Course Generator

Describe a course and AI drafts the sections, lessons and quiz questions, using a yearly allowance of AI credits that grows with the plan.

ClubSuite community

Forums and private groups called Circles, member profiles and a searchable directory on Growth, with direct messaging added on Scale.

CoachKit coaching

Run coaching programs with unlimited coaches, clients and cohorts, milestone and habit tracking, and dashboards for coaches and clients.

Paid Memberships Pro

Restrict content

Limit pages and posts to members by level, with registration, subscriptions and member emails built in.

Payment gateways

Gateways listed include Stripe, PayPal, Paystack, CCBill and manual payment.

Add-ons

25 free add-ons come with the free plugin and 54 premium add-ons come with paid plans.

Managed hosting on Max

Max plans run on a dedicated server with caching, daily backups, a CDN and free migration from other platforms.

Do It For Me credits

Max includes 25 credits every month for custom code, add-on setup and design changes, which the vendor quotes per request.

Use cases

Pages cover courses, paid newsletters, private video, podcasts, member directories and communities.

MemberPress

• Launch$399

  per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.50

  $199.50 the first year. One site, unlimited members and courses, Stripe only, 25,000 AI credits. MemberPress takes a 4.9% fee on each payment.

• Growth$699

  per year at renewal, after a first year for $349.50

  $349.50 the first year. No transaction fee, PayPal and Square, forums and member directory, CoachKit, quizzes, certificates, dripping, 50,000 AI credits.

• Scale$999

  per year at renewal, after a first year for $499.50

  $499.50 the first year. REST API and webhooks, Zapier, Easy Affiliate, direct messaging, gradebook, corporate accounts, Authorize.net, 100,000 AI credits.

Paid Memberships Pro

• Free$0

  Open-source core plugin and 25 free add-ons that you host yourself, without support.

• Standard$49

  per month, billed monthly ($499 billed yearly)

  1-site license with all 54 premium add-ons and support; you host the site.

• Max$99

  per month, billed monthly ($999 billed yearly)

  Managed hosting, free migration and 25 credits a month; the page crosses out a normal price of $149.

• Max 2x$299

  per month, billed monthly ($2,999 billed yearly)

  Twice the server and 50 credits a month, for busier sites.

MemberPress

• Other savings

  Half price for the first year

  The pricing page sells the first year of Launch at $199.50, Growth at $349.50 and Scale at $499.50; renewals are at the full $399, $699 and $999.

• Nonprofit

  Introductory price for life for nonprofits

  Qualifying nonprofits keep the introductory price at every renewal, which MemberPress describes as up to 50% off all plan levels.

Paid Memberships Pro

• Annual discount

  Pay annually, save about 2 months

  The pricing page lists yearly totals of $499 for Standard, $999 for Max and $2,999 for Max 2x against monthly plans of $49, $99 and $299.